This past weekend we hopped in the car with some of our closest friends and road tripped a few hours down south to Orlando, Florida. I have been to Orlando a few times myself and I am sure many of you have been as well. With it only being 6 hours from our home, it was a quick drive and the perfect escape.
We arrived late on Thursday night and checked into Bahama Bay Resort where we stayed in “Our Disney Condo” on the resort’s property. Our condo was very clean and spacious and had three bedrooms, two bathrooms and was stocked with the basic necessities. The resort itself has multiple pools; two jacuzzies; a gym; a beach volleyball court; a beach with tiki huts, hammocks, and lounge chairs; and a bar and restaurant with great food and drinks. The condo is located about 5 minutes from a variety of shopping and dining and about 20 minutes from the Disney theme parks and outlet malls. Click here to check out the rental and book for yourself!
While the boys stayed at the condo to work on Friday, my friend and I ventured out to have lunch at Kona Cafe at Disney’s Polynesian Village resort. Disney World has a great app that I would recommend anyone visiting to download called My Disney Experience. We made our lunch reservations through this app and you do not have to have park tickets to dine at their properties. This is a fun way to see different Disney resorts and all you need to do is show your dining-reservation confirmation at the gate. Do be aware that you should book in advance if possible and if you do not show-up for your reservation, they will charge you $10 per person.
After we ate lunch and explored the Polynesian Village resort, we took the monorail, which is Disney’s form of public transportation, to the Grand Floridian resort & spa. This Resort is gorgeous and if you are lucky enough to visit during Christmas time they have a life size, fully edible ginger bread house that is a must see.
Later that evening we headed to Disney Springs. We had dinner at Morimoto Asia and then stopped for dessert at Amorette’s Patisserie and Gideon’s Bake House. Be warned – we were in a virtual line for Gideon’s for about three hours. Make sure to plan ahead and make reservations for anything you would like to do at Disney Springs.
Saturday we started the day bright and early with another reservation that we pre-booked with Steakhouse 71 at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. Since we did not stay at an official Disney resort we used our breakfast reservations to get easier access to parking for our day at Magic Kingdom. After eating breakfast we took a short 5 minute walk to the park – however, if you wish to take Disney transportation from a resort to any of the parks, it is free and super easy – and by eating at the resort, we avoided paying for parking all day!
We spent the entire day at Magic Kingdom and had the time of our lives. In my opinion you are never to old for a little Disney magic! Our top favorite rides were Space Mountain, The Haunted Mansion, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. My favorite treats were the Mickey shaped ice cream bar and the holiday special Christmas cookie milkshake! We also looked the part thanks to Minnie Mouse flannels from The Pop Style and custom t-shirts from The Hitchhiking Ghouls.
Sunday we headed home and made a stop at the Orlando Vineland Premium Outlets which has an amazing variety of outlet stores including a Lululemon that is worth the drive! We also stopped at Buc-ee’s in Daytona for the first time and I was blown away with how crazy that road side stop was! If you know you know haha
We had such a fun time and truly enjoyed our stay with Our Disney Condo and getting to be kids again with a day at Disney! Let me know if you have been to Disney recently and what your favorite parks, rides and treats are in the comments for my next visit!
